


Unlikely Renegades

by WinTTY



Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: Adventure, Alternate Universe - High School, Angst, F/F, Fluff, Mystery, Romance, Slow Burn, Teenage Drama, and have fun, and mystery solvers, chloe is a damn child but nobody can stop her, they break school rules, think breakfast club, unlikely group of pranksters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-15
Updated: 2018-06-14
Packaged: 2018-12-02 12:16:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,625
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11509257
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WinTTY/pseuds/WinTTY
Summary: When 5 students end up in detention together, nobody expects anything to happen.But Chloe Price is amongst them, and Chloe Price is full of bad ideas. Such as trying to unite them together into some sort of semi-cohesive gang - Breakfast Club style.





	1. The Gang

**Author's Note:**

> AU  
> Blackwell is a boarding school in a sleepy hamlet of Arcadia Bay, Oregon.  
> Chloe, Rachel, Max, Kate & Victoria know one another mostly in passing.

Chloe walked into the room, hands in her pockets as she gave the occupants a quick look.

In the corner sat the brunette haired Max Caulfield; freckled, pale skin, wearing a hoodie over her uniform (opting to obviously replace her school-issued jacket). On her desk sat her old polaroid camera and beside it her slightly worn camera bag decorated with an assortment of stickers, graffiti and patches.

The other corner was occupied by one blonde, pixie-cut Victoria Chase; her scowl was already trained directly on the punk who’d entered, one hand held up near her face as she was interrupted whilst inspecting her (no doubt professionally) manicured nails.

In the middle sat the honey-blonde Rachel Amber; grinning wide towards Chloe, she had her arms crossed over her chest as one hand absently stroked a lone blue feather earring.

Finally, right at the very forefront of the class sat Kate Marsh; as usual, her hair was made up in an immaculate bun that went surprisingly well with her simple clothes - a black cardigan, white blouse and a below the knee skirt. Looking out of her element, she dropped her eyes to the floor the moment she saw Chloe looking back at her.

“Heyo,” Chloe said with a half-wave and a smirk. “Y’all here for detention too?”

Initially, she received no answer as Victoria continued to scowl at her, Max continued to play with her camera and Kate continued to be silent.

“Thas’ right pardner,” Rachel spoke up in a mock southern accent, not wanting to leave the girl hanging. She resumed stroking her earring moments later, looking out of the window.

Chloe snorted. With a steady step, she took up a seat nearby (but not next to) Rachel, almost perfectly finding herself in the middle of everyone.

They waited.

After an eternity of silence (which lasted 5 minutes), the teacher had finally entered.

“Sorry,” he apologised and held in his hand a stack of papers, looking around the room. “Is this everyone?” he asked no-one, nodding to himself immediately. “Okay, good.”

Victoria tuned out his voice as she proceeded to check her immaculate manicure yet again.

Walking around the class, James Denver - more commonly known as ‘Sir’, ‘Mr. Denver’ or ‘Teach’ - handed out blank pieces of paper and pens, giving the seated students a quick look as he did so.

“I’m rather busy marking grades for my class, so I’ll have to leave you in here without supervision - hopefully that won’t be a problem, right?” he asked as he stood at the front of the class.

Rachel grinned but quickly put on her best ‘good-girl’ smile and nodded for everyone present. “Of course, Mr. Denver.”

“Since I don’t want to bore you out of your mind, I’d like you to bring your attention to the pieces of paper you’ve been given-”

“-they’re blank, teach,” pointed out Chloe as she held up her paper with two fingers, handling it with care as if it was infected.

“Good observation,” Victoria sneered and immediately saw Chloe turn around in her seat and give her _that_ stare.

“Yes, they’re blank Ms. Price,” the teacher nodded. “I expect all of you to have them filled by the time I get back in-” he checked his watch, “-one, maybe two hours.”

Max groaned quietly; but loudly enough to be heard by everyone but Mr. Denver.

“Uhm. What do you want us to write about, sir?” Kate asked, her voice nearly cracked under the stress of such a simple question. She shouldn't be here, but she was.

Denver smiled and pointed at each individual for a few seconds. “Yourselves. I want you to write about yourselves. I want you to write about who you-”

“-think you are,” finished Chloe. “Are you serious dude? This isn’t the _‘Breakfast Club’.”_

“Ms. Price, please don’t interrupt me again,” he spoke as he looked at the punk sitting in the middle. “Now… I’d like you all to write about who you think you are, and unlike the word limit imposed on the protagonists of the aforementioned movie; you have no word limit - be wild because I expect your papers to be _filled.”_

Chloe scoffed and flicked her head towards the windows, observing the lazily moving clouds in the distance.

“Like I said before - I’ll be back in an hour or two,” he approached the door and laid his hand on the handle, hesitating. “Ms. Price?”

“What?” she shot back and looked at him again.

“Don’t get any ideas,” he finished and held up a key to the door, quickly making his exit.

Behind him, the door locked with a _click._

“Are you cereal?” Max breathed out under her nose, annoyed at the fact she was in detention and in disbelief at the fact she was _locked_ in detention.

“What… What if we need to go to the restroom?” Kate asked nobody.

“Fear not!” Rachel exclaimed and threw up her hands in flair. “I believe in you, Kate Marsh! I believe you can hold your bladder long enough for Mr. Denver to get back! I BELIEVE!”

It was all a bit too much, but whatever.

Kate managed to giggle, albeit awkwardly, and flashed a smile towards the honey-haired girl.

Chloe waited a few minutes in her seat with her arms crossed over her chest, ignoring the quiet sound of pens against paper. With a quick scan around, she noticed that only Rachel, Kate and Max were doing their assigned tasks.

Victoria meanwhile was on her phone, tapping away wildly with the permanent bitchface she was so well known for.

“Vicky, do you ever smile?” Chloe asked; her query causing the pens to stop working for a few seconds. “Or were you born ugly?”

“Ouch,” Rachel hissed and looked over her shoulder towards Victoria, “that’s gotta sting.”

“I smile for the right people,” Victoria replied, “You’re not people though, not with that hairdo,” she gestured to Chloe’s electric blue hair. “You look like something that’d go on the cover of a 90’s bad punk zine. Newsflash; the 90’s are _thankfully_ over. _Misérable.”_

Chloe scowled, a little bit salty about the sudden backfire. Lifting both her middle fingers towards the blonde, she mouthed _‘Fuck You’_ to preserve Kate’s innocence and then turned back around.

Minutes passed again in silence.

“I’m bored,” Chloe declared.

Victoria scoffed and looked at the girl again. “Tough shit,” she said and resumed texting away.

Kate stopped working for a few seconds to glance at the two girls over her shoulder, Victoria in particular.

Deciding to do something, Chloe spun her chair around as loudly as possible (ensuring it’d leave a permanent mark on the floor) and faced Rachel with a grin. Straddling her seat, she looked at the blonde who looked back with an equally large smile.

“Rachel, right?” she asked and extended her hand, shaking up with the girl. “I’m Chloe.”

“I know,” she replied and leaned forward a bit. “You’re not exactly unknown in Blackwell.”

Chloe flashed a smug smirk as she spoke, “Well, y’know what they say about me…”

“No, I really don’t,” Rachel replied.

After a beat of an awkward silence between the two she giggled.

“I’m kidding.”

“Uh… r-right,” Chloe mumbled, still recovering from that hit to her ego. _Ouch._

“You’re a local, right? Oregon?” Rachel asked and bit the end of her pen. “Portland?”

“Yeah,” she answered and looked around the classroom, flashing a grin towards Max who she caught staring. “Mom and _step-fuhrer_ sent me here so I could get off their ass I s’pose.”

Rachel snorted. “I feel the love,” she said with a sigh. “I’m from Long Beach.”

“Big Sur? No way!” Chloe exclaimed. “Dude, that’s awesome! I’ve always wanted to go to Cali.”

“Yeah, don’t bother,” Rachel said and dropped her pen, starting to stroke her feather earring again. “It’s not as glamorous as it seems.”

“Oh. Right.”

“Hey, I know you’re both thinking this is a great time to become gal pals, but _please_ \- I really _don’t_ want to hear your life stories,” Victoria spoke up from her corner. “Keep it on the down low.”

Chloe gave her the double bird again before promptly turning back around in her seat.

Glancing at the clock, she saw the minutes tick down - one millennia at a time.

Her hands fumbled with the buttons of her white shirt. Tapping her fingers on her knee, she found herself looking around more and more; each time resting her gaze back down on the pen and paper in front of her. Bringing her hand up to her collar, she played with the buttons again and undid her tie, letting it hang loosely around her neck.

“Jesus,” she mumbled to herself.

Kate turned around and gave her a brief look.

“Sorry,” Chloe quickly smiled at her.

Again minutes passed in a silence filled with nothing but the sound of pens against paper and Victoria shuffling in her seat once in a while.

“Alright, gang - listen up!” Chloe exclaimed and stood up.

Max, Kate and Rachel looked at her in slight confusion. Rachel’s face turned to a grin as she already had an inkling of what Chloe was going to do.

“I’m not part of your _‘gang’,”_ Victoria said. “All you dweebs are below me, I don’t want to be associated with… _that,”_ she continued and gestured at Chloe.

“Icky Vicky,” Chloe gave her the finger again and turned her gaze towards Max. “Well, are you going to join us?”

“Me?” Max asked and pointed to herself, looking around herself at everybody else not there.

“No, the dude sitting next to you,” Chloe mockingly spoke and rolled her eyes. “C’mon, get over here.”

Max hesitated for a few seconds but complied, moving out of her seat and shuffling over beside Rachel; sitting down as the girl grinned at her mischievously.

“Marsh?” Chloe turned around and looked at Kate.

Timidly, the girl turned her head around and cocked her eyebrows in a mix of confusion and fear. “...yes?”

“Are you going to join us?” Chloe queried and gestured to the two girls sitting in front of her. “C’mon, it ain’t gonna be bad.”

“I… I d-don’t know,” she mumbled and looked at her _pretty-much finished_ essay about herself. “I don’t think I should…”

“Nonsense!” Rachel exclaimed in an attempt to back Chloe. “Come, join us at the table of the round knights of Blackwell!”

Max giggled. “I think it’s knights of the round table, not the table of round knights.”

“Details!” Rachel shoved her elbow into Max playfully. _“Fine,_ whatever. Kate Marsh, come join us at the _round table of the knights of Blackwell._ How about that, huh?” she asked with a sideways glance at Max.

“Better,” Max replied and then gestured to the table they sat at, “but the tables aren’t round though. We’re not knights either.”

Rachel groaned. “You’re hard to please.”

Kate giggled at the small exchange and then looked back at her work briefly. “Okay,” she said and flashed them a smile. Quickly she made her way over and sat beside Rachel.

“Victoria,” Chloe spoke and looked at the girl.

“No.”

“Vicky…”

“Don’t call me that.”

“Icky Vicky!”

“Don’t call me that either!”

“Bitchtoria!” Chloe exclaimed and put her hands on her hips. “Get the hell over here!” she demanded and pointed to the floor beneath her.

Victoria scowled harder than before. “I told you already: I’m not interested in joining your dweeb club, keep it to yourselves!”

With loud footsteps, Chloe approached her table and slammed her hands down on the surface, causing Victoria to jump up in her chair. “Get over there,” Chloe demanded with a growl. “You’re in detention, you’re part of the gang.”

“Fuck you,” Victoria hissed. “I’m not part of your _gang,_ keep that shit-”

Tired at her incessant resistance, Chloe grabbed Victoria’s wrist and dragged her out of the chair; slowly making her way back across the classroom with the struggling blonde.

“Let me go!” Victoria protested as she tried to fight the grip, unable to do much as she didn’t want to ruin her expensive clothes, jewellery or makeup. “Let me go you punk!”

Ignoring her, Chloe arrived at the small rendezvous in the middle of the classroom. “Sit,” she said towards Victoria and pulled up a chair. “You’re part of the gang now.”

Victoria yanked out her wrist and rubbed it for a few seconds, not dropping her deadly scowl at all the entire time. Huffing out an annoyed breath, she looked at the three girls sitting down; each one of them holding an expression stuck between a smile and an unsure frown.

“Fine,” she mumbled and dropped down into her assigned seat, immediately bringing up her phone to distract herself.

“Alright, listen up gang-”

“First of all, can we come up with a better name?” Rachel asked and received a quiet nod from Max beside her. “I’d rather not be known as _‘the gang’,_ thank you very much.”

“Ugh.” Chloe rolled her eyes. “Whatever. Suggestions?”

Silence.

“...breakfast club?” Max voiced out and looked at Chloe.

With a groan, she shook her head. “Can we have something _original_ at least?”

Just like that, Max retreated back into herself and kept quiet.

After another few seconds of silence followed, Chloe sighed. “Can we skip the name for now? We’ve got more important things to do!”

Rachel nodded. “Fine. But we’re changing the name!”

Victoria scoffed. “Pfft, I honestly doubt this’ll last past the classroom doors,” she voiced out her dissent and continued to text. “Dweebs.”

“Yes, we get it Icky Vicky,” Chloe looked at her and crossed her arms. “We’re dweebs, _har har,_ very funny and mucho original. Now will you please shut the _fu-_ shut up at least if you’re not going to get involved?”

“Whatever,” Victoria shook her head.

“Alright, listen up!” Chloe exclaimed and stood on her chair, wobbling a bit as she tried to balance on it. “We’re breakin’ outta here!”

“What?” was the answer out of the four girls, all them speaking in unison.

“You heard me!” Chloe grinned and decide to take it a step further, stepping onto the table instead. “We’re breaking out!”

Kate immediately shook her head. “I don’t think we should. We’ll get in trouble.”

Max nodded in agreement. “Kate’s right,” she said, “we’ll get thrown back in here for _longer.”_

“Nonsense!” Chloe shook her head and looked at the clock. “Teach said we’re in here for an hour!”

“-or two…” Max mumbled and dropped her head.

“He didn’t specify,” Chloe pointed out. “Which means we should be home free. Dorm free. Whatever.”

“Don’t know if you noticed - the door is locked,” Victoria said and crossed her arms. “How do you plan to get past that?”

“I was getting to that part,” Chloe spoke in Victoria’s direction. “I… have a certain skill set and tools.”

Rachel grinned. “Bullshit!” she exclaimed and saw Kate drop her face. “Sorry!” she quickly apologised. “You’re going to pick the door, right?”

“Ding, ding! We have a winner!” Chloe pointed at Rachel as her other hand withdrew a small tool. “Don’t ask me how I got it,” she finished with a wink.

Max giggled. “That’s cool but… we’ll get in trouble.”

“Jeez, calm down! Nobody is going to get in any trouble!”

“But… Mr. Denver will come back and find us gone. We’ll get in trouble…” Kate mumbled and looked over her shoulder towards her desk, wondering if it’d be better to back out now.

“Kate, Kate, Kate…” Chloe looked down at her from her table perch, deciding to sit down on the edge rather than stand. “If anything happens, I’ll take the blame - m’kay?”

“Cute,” Victoria mocked and looked over her nails absently. “However, unlike some of you, I’d like to preserve my 4.0 GPA. Thanks, but no thanks.”

“Oooh,” Rachel held up her hand to her forehead, feigning a swoon. “Please Vicky, take me to the _bedroom_ already…”

Victoria blushed immediately, scowling at Rachel. “Shut up!” she hissed and looked away.

Rachel simply cackled and looked back at Chloe. “Alright boss, let’s say we bite your plan. What now?”

“Hey, we didn’t agree!” Max pointed out and looked at Kate. “You and Chloe might want this, but what about me and Kate?”

“Do you _really_ want to sit here for another hour?” Rachel asked and smirked.

“N-no, but-”

“No butts!” Chloe butted in. “Are you in or out?”

Max groaned and looked at Kate.

In return, Kate glanced at her and then delved into quiet thought. “Okay,” she finally mumbled after a moment of silence. _Chloe said she’d take the blame, right?_

“If Kate’s in, I guess… I’m in too,” Max spoke with a tinge of uncertainty in her voice. “You’ll take the blame, right?”

Chloe rolled her head. “Not even out of the classroom and y’all ready to throw me under the bus? _Yes,_ I’ll take the blame if shit happens - trust.”

“Woo! Everyone’s on board, let’s go!” Rachel exclaimed in excitement again.

“Alright gang, you sit yourselves down and watch the master at work, m’kay?” Chloe slid off the table and retrieved her tool again, swaggering over towards the door. “Here goes…”

 _‘The Gang’_ watched as Chloe struggled with the lock. At first she took it slow, easing the tool inside and trying to tip the tumblers until the door unlocked. Without any luck, she decided another method. Then another. Then another.

“Fuckin’, shit, fuck, piece of-”

“Chloe!” Kate exclaimed in a whisper, her face aghast at the vocabulary which she used.

“Sorry!” she immediately flashed an apologetic smile. “Kinda slips out sometimes, y’know?”

“Cover thine ears,” Rachel said and shuffled closer to Kate. “Hush now, she’ll swear like a sailor soon…”

After a countless number of swear words (which Kate smartly blocked out with some music that her and Max decided to listen to whilst waiting), Chloe finally huffed out a breath.

“I thought you had skills,” Victoria mocked again as she browsed the internet on her latest iPhone. "Pathetic."

Chloe sighed out in frustration and stood up, pocketing her tool. “Piece of shit!” she exclaimed and kicked the door loudly, attracting the attention of the gang.

Just like that, the lock _clicked_ as the last tumblers seemed to align perfectly due to an unforeseen circumstance of luck.

Rachel dropped her jaw in amazement.

Victoria pursed her lips in annoyance and a hidden sigh of relief. Perhaps she wouldn’t be spending _another_ hour texting Taylor and Courtney.

Max and Kate looked on, slightly flabbergasted at Chloe’s successful endeavour.

“Mademoiselles…” Chloe spoke with an accent as she opened the door wide and flashed a shit-eating grin. “Y’all are free.”

Victoria was the first to get up, immediately collecting her Louis-Vuitton handbag and stuffing her phone inside. With her head held high, she stopped at the door briefly.

“Don’t ever try to speak french again,” she mumbled toward Chloe and left, disappearing down the corridor.

Chloe flipped her off as she left.

Rachel was next, collecting her own bag as she ran over and hugged Chloe; causing the punk to blush slightly. “Thanks, you’re _the_ best! Now gimme your phone,” she demanded and held her hand out.

“Uh, what?” Chloe complied anyway, watching as the blonde snagged the device out of her hand and quickly tapped away at the screen.

“I’ve added my number. Gimme a text or call - let’s talk, mmm’kay?” Rachel winked and left.

Chloe stood there in silence for a couple of moments. _Whatever._

“Uh… you two coming or…?” she asked and looked at Max and Kate, the two girls still sitting in their seats.

Max looked at Kate, whilst Kate looked at Max. They were still both unsure; would skipping detention _really_ be a good idea?

“I… I suppose we both did finish out assignments,” Max mumbled and looked over her shoulder at the piece of paper on her desk. “You did, didn’t you Kate?”

“Y-yeah,” she whispered and glanced over her shoulder at Chloe. Receiving a smile and a confident flick of the chin towards the door, Kate herself felt a small spurt of bravery rise up. “I suppose we can’t get in trouble for this, right? ...let’s go, Max.”

Max opened her eyes wide. “Woah, really?” she asked.

“Yes, really,” Kate answered and giggled.

So the two of them gathered their things and made their way to the door, stopping in front of the taller girl guarding the entrance.

“Thanks!” Kate said with a bit of enthusiasm, leaving the class and waiting outside for Max.

Chloe looked down at Max with a smirk. “You gonna kiss me or something?” she questioned and wiggled her eyebrows suggestively. “Just sayin’, I wouldn’t mind…”

Max blushed. Max blushed _hardcore;_ her cheeks reaching the approximate colour of a ripe tomato. _How was she supposed to answer that?_

“I’m kidding!” Chloe guffawed as she saw Max’s face go red, pronouncing her light dusting of freckles across her cheeks. “Now _go_ before teach gets back. Remember, I’m taking the fall for y’all if anything, so blame me, yeah?”

“Y-yeah,” Max mumbled and adjusted the strap of her bag, still waiting there - expecting _something,_ just not sure _what._

“You okay dude?” Chloe cocked an eyebrow as Max just stood there.

“G-gotta go, y-yeah. See ya…” she quickly blurted out and left with Kate, still recovering from Chloe’s flirtatious mark.

With one last look around the classroom, Chloe flipped off the empty room. “Sayonara, bitches!”

* * *

 

An hour later Chloe was sitting on the fountain located in the main quad of Blackwell. Around her dozens of students sat, talked and laughed as their made their way to and fro.

“Yo dude, you okay?” Justin asked as he saw Chloe spacing out.

“Huh? Yeah, totally,” she answered and dismissed him with her hand.

Justin shrugged and kept looking at her. “Waaaiit… weren't you supposed to be in a detention or something?”

Chloe grinned and popped open another button on her collar, leaning back as much as the edge of the fountain allowed. “Totally skipped that shit dude, y’know how I roll.”

“Right on!” Justin bumped fists with her and snorted. “You wanna hit up our spot?” he asked as he gestured to his pockets, obviously pointing out the weed baggie inside.

“Fuck yeah!” Chloe exclaimed. “Let’s go-”

**“Could the following students report to the Principal's Office IMMEDIATELY: Chloe Price, Maxine Caulfield, Rachel Amber, Victoria Chase and… Kate Marsh. Thank you.”**

Chloe looked around her as the chatter died down in the quad and all eyes rested on her.

“Well… s-shit,” she mumbled and got up, dusting herself off.

_Time to face the music._

_Again._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey this is kinda a bit like breakfast club but not?
> 
> also ooc characters don't @ me


	2. Taking Fire

“Blackwell Academy prides itself on student excellence-”

“-blah, _blah,_ blah-”

“Ms. Price!” Principal Wells exclaimed and stopped pacing his office, turning on his heel to face the blue-haired student. “Some respect! Might I remind you this is your-”

“Fifth? Sixth? Seventh infraction?” Chloe interrupted him as she crossed her arms and leaned back against one of the bookcases lining the walls. “I’m reminded Wells, no need to keep throwing it at my face everytime I’m here.”

Wells waited a moment, let out a tired sigh and then rubbed his forehead. Dealing with Chloe Price was the worst part of his job. “This situation has put me in a difficult position,” he spoke and began pacing the room again, “the lot of you also.”

Max scrunched up her face and dropped her head, ashamed.

Kate kept silent, face pale, hands clutching at her bookbag.

Victoria was _fuming_ towards Chloe, her scowl and pursed lips reminiscent of a cartoon.

Rachel, in usual Rachel fashion, stood quietly and smiled towards the principal the entire time.

Chloe snickered and kept her posture, watching as Wells turned back around again.

“I’m afraid your parents - all your parents - will be told of this event. You will all also serve a week's worth of detention-”

“Woah, hold up!” Chloe protested immediately and stood forward, face dropping in silent desperation. “A _week?”_

“Yes, Ms. Price, a week. It applies to all of you,” he continued and pointed towards each individual standing in his office. “Even you, Ms. Marsh.”

Wincing slightly at that, Kate shrunk lower in her place. Her mother would _not_ be happy about this.

“It was my idea!” Chloe quickly spoke up when she saw Kate’s expression. Something inside her snapped and forced her body forward as she pointed to herself. “It was my idea, I swear.”

Wells turned around in slight surprise. Chloe Price, the infamous ‘high-risk’ designated student turning herself in? Taking blame? _That_ was surprising. “I figured as much-”

“-so don’t punish them!” Chloe carried on and gestured towards the four others beside her. “Punish me. Give me two weeks of detentions or somethin’. Don’t call their parents - come on dude!”

_Yo, what the fuck am I saying right now?_

A moment of silence followed as everyone held their breath momentarily, their eyes all focused on Principal Wells and the next few words.

“I suppose,” he said and stroked his chin. “There were three students who completed their assigned tasks: Maxine Caulfield, Kate Marsh and Rachel Amber.”

Three of them all released their breath. Rachel kept her smile, Max managed to work up a small one on her face, meanwhile Kate… Kate still looked sickly pale, but at least she was breathing now.

“Considering these were also your first infractions, and minor ones at that, I will reconsider calling your parents,” he said, turning his head towards Chloe and Victoria. “The two of you however will have to attend a week's worth of detentions.”

Victoria’s jaw dropped, her mouth sputtering out an incoherent sentence in shock. Victoria Chase, _the_ queen-bee, in trouble? Victoria Chase, _the_ head of the Vortex Club, was to serve more detentions? “What?” she hissed out.

“You, Ms. Chase, will have to attend a week’s worth of detentions for not completing your assigned task. The same applies to you, Ms. Price,” Wells continued and pointed at the two of them. Momentarily he let out a sigh. “Though I appreciate you stepping forward for once.”

Chloe snorted. “Whatever, dude.” With a sideways glance towards Max, Kate and Rachel - she winked out of Wells’ sight.

“I expect the two of you to attend after tomorrow’s lessons. I also expect you to not be absent from said classes. Are we clear on that?” Wells spoke as he looked over the two of them.

Victoria looked at Chloe, scowled again and then turned back towards Principal Wells. “Yes, sir.”

Chloe gave a half-assed nod and immediately turned towards the door.

“Also, Ms. Price, would you correct your tie? It’s part of your school uniform!” Wells exclaimed before she left the room.

* * *

 

Justin watched as Chloe pushed her way through the crowd of students pouring out of the main building.

“Yo!” he shouted to get her attention, waving her over. “What’s the news?”

Chloe rolled her eyes as she sat down beside him, leaning over her knees. “Weeks worth of detention.”

“Sheesh,” he frowned briefly and then looked around. “What about the others? Uh… Kate?”

“Max, Kate and Rachel are saved, thanks to yours truly,” she said and pointed to herself. “Ugh, I’m an idiot. I took the blame, like… what the fuck? That wasn’t me. That’s so not me.”

“Yo, wait,” Justin stopped her then looked around again. “Max, Kate and Rachel are saved. Uh, what about Chase?”

Chloe groaned and dropped her face into her hands. “Don’t get me started.”

“Oof,” he huffed out and put a hand on Chloe’s shoulder. “Looks like you’re gonna be stuck in the same room as her again after-all, huh?”

“Gag,” Chloe slumped her shoulders and fell back onto the grass, looking up at the cloudy sky. “I’m going to go insane. Have you got any grass on you?”

Justin nodded and patted his jacket pocket.

“Sweet, let’s go an-”

_“Price!”_

Chloe stopped as she sat up and closed her eyes. Her ears slightly perked up, she was already considering just getting up and leaving before she had to hear another word. She waited a few seconds and heard the footsteps stop directly behind her.

Victoria crossed her arms and looked down at Chloe. “Price. What. The. Fuck?”

“Whaddya want, Vic?” she asked and gave her a sideways glance over her shoulder.

“Vic- No, you _don’t_ get to call me Vic, _Price._ Only my _friends_ call me that-”

“Must be a shame not having any then,” Chloe quipped and grinned.

As her face faltered for a brief moment, Victoria huffed and corrected her posture. Choosing to ignore the remark, Victoria continued, “What the fuck was that? I thought _you_ were supposed to take the blame, not get us _both_ blamed!”

“Hey, ain’t my fault that the pretty princess was too busy texting her drones to care,” Chloe replied and shrugged. “All I did was get us out, I didn’t tell you not to do your work.”

Victoria flapped her mouth open a few times then scowled even harder, somehow. “I’m not going to detention with you,” she declared, unsure where to take the conversation next.

“Thank the lord almighty!” Chloe exclaimed and threw her hands up in the air. “Maybe I’ll have some peace and quiet after all!”

“Oh, fuck you!” Victoria hissed and dropped her arms beside herself. “Do you realise what you fucking did? My parents-”

“Honestly? I don’t give a shit, Icky Vicky.” Chloe yawned and stretched out her arms. “Your issues with your parents ain’t a concern of mine, alright? Go cry somewhere else.”

Victoria had the urge to smack a bitch, though she restrained herself as her eyes narrowed even further. “Ugh! You’re going to pay for this,” she finished, turned around and walked away.

Justin breathed a sigh of relief and rubbed his eyes. “Holy fuck, yo, what?”

Chloe shrugged and stood up, dusting off her jacket. “I don’t know dude. Let’s go smoke some, I need to destress and all that.”

* * *

 

Leaning against the back of the Blackwell Gym, Chloe passed the joint back and forth between her and Justin. Each time she took a drag, she watched the smoke lazily rising up and dissipating, her mind deep in thought about her actions earlier.

Chloe took the blame. That was like… the first time ever she did that. Chloe took the blame. Chloe. Took. The. Blame. Chloe Price, the infamous punk-delinquent of Blackwell, took the blame to save people she hadn’t even spoke properly to before. Except Victoria, but she didn’t give a shit about her; not really.

“Duuude,” Justin said as he took a hit, staring up at the sky. “You should’ve been at the skate park earlier, shit was rad.”

“Mhm.”

“Trevor tried to do a tre-flip, busted his balls,” he continued and wailed out in laughter, passing the joint across. “Oh man, I kinda wanna feel bad but shit was mad funny.”

Chloe chuckled as she pulled on the joint, exhaling the smoke to the side.

“Yo, fuck, is that Rachel Amber?” Justin suddenly said as he spotted a girl making her way over towards them. “Fuck, I think I’m in love.”

“Alright, Romeo.” Chloe looked sideways and, indeed, Rachel Amber was making her way over towards them; smile on her face as she stared directly at the punk.

“Chloe,” Rachel said as she approached.

“That’s me, yeah. W’sup?” Chloe asked.

Suddenly she froze as Rachel wrapped her arms around her and pulled her into a tight hug, swaying them side-to-side slightly.

“What the-”

“Thank you!” Rachel said and moved away, wide smile ever-present on her face. “Gosh, I can’t _believe_ you actually took the blame!”

“Yeah, I’m surprised too-”

“You totally saved me,” she continued and reached over to take the joint from Chloe. “Kate and Max too. They’re grateful, you know. Especially Max, _hint.”_

Chloe stood frozen as Rachel took the joint from her, took a drag, exhaled and winked in her direction. “Wha-”

“Anyways,” she interrupted again, passing the joint back over to Justin and slapping his cheek lightly; smirking. “I gotta go, places to be, people to talk to, y’know?”

“Yeah,” Chloe breathed out and gave Justin a quick glance to make sure he was still breathing. “Uh. I’ll see you soon, maybe?”

“Totally,” Rachel replied and smiled even wider. “I’ll give you a call soon, yep yep, talk soon!” she exclaimed and quickly turned around, disappearing around the corner of the gym moments later.

“Yooooooooo,” Justin swayed in his place and passed over the joint to Chloe without taking a drag. “Yoooooooooooooooooooooo-”

“Breathe dude.” Chloe laughed and puffed on the joint. “That’s just the Rachel Amber effect. It’ll wear off.”

“That what?” Justin asked and then gave her a momentary glance. “Nah, dude, I’m like… in love. Hardcore.”

“Sure,” Chloe chuckled and passed the joint back over. “Whatever you say, dude.”

“Hey, did she say she had your number?” he asked, looking at Chloe with a hopeful glimmer.

Chloe rolled her eyes and pushed herself off the wall. “Maybe I’ll give it to you, but you gotta get me some grass from Frank-”

“Duuude-”

“Nuh-uh, grass from Frank or no deal; you know he hikes up the prices for me.”

“Fuck.”

Chloe laughed and gave him a wave of her hand. “I’m gonna go chill in my room, laters J.”

“Yeah, yeah,” he mumbled and finished off the joint on his own.

* * *

 

Hands in her pockets, Chloe sauntered into the dorm building and quickly ran up the stairs. Pushing the door open to the girls corridor, she looked around as a few heads turned towards her briefly before resuming their previous motions.

Chloe walked down the corridor and gave a few of the girls glances and smirks. She nodded her head towards Dana and Juliet as she passed, receiving smiles in return.

Just before she stopped in front of her door, she spotted Max leaving her dorm room and idling outside for some time; seemingly lost in her thoughts. Chloe pounced.

“Hey,” she said as she approached and slumped sideways against the door frame of Max’s room. “W’sup, girl?”

“Hm?” Max dreamily hummed and faced Chloe. “Oh! Hi.”

Chloe kept silent and smirked as Max suddenly blushed.

“I… w-want to thank you, for earlier. Taking the blame,” she mumbled and brought up her hand to hold her elbow. “It was nice of you, especially after, uh, hearing the rumours…”

“Rumours, huh?”

“Oh, shit, I didn’t mean anything- ugh! Stupid, stupid, stupid,” she whispered and looked away. “Just… people say that you don’t ever take the blame, so… I thought you’d like… leave us in the dust.”

Chloe chuckled and crossed her arms. “I made a promise, didn’t I? Couldn’t leave my girls hanging like that, not after I got them all in trouble.”

Max smiled and looked at Chloe again. “Right. Uh. Sorry for your detention though, that’s gotta suck.”

“Sucks hardcore,” Chloe replied with a sigh. “But whatever, right? How’s Kate?”

“Oh, she’s fine. She feels a bit guilty for having you take the blame, but I think she’s thankful. Like… really, really thankful.”

“That’s awesome.”

“Yeah.”

Again there was an almost uncomfortable pause in which Chloe looked at Max and Max looked at Chloe.

“Alright, I’m, uh… gonna go and chill in my room. Knock or something if you wanna hang, y’know?” Chloe said and pushed herself off the door frame. “Say hi to Kate for me, if you see her before me that is, m’kay?”

Max nodded and smiled again. “Sure. I’ll talk to you later?”

“Count on it girlfriend,” Chloe replied and added in a quick wink.

Max scrunched up her face and felt her cheeks heating up _again._ “Right.”

Chloe gave her a wave and walked back down the hallway towards her room, giving Max a sideways glance as she passed her on the way to somewhere.

Inside her room, Chloe slammed the door shut and immediately turned on her hi-fi, bobbing her head as heavy punk tunes began to play out of the decade-old speakers. Looking around, she smirked at her mess of a room that she absolutely adored.

Graffiti, posters, scattered science books and papers, dirty clothes and so much more. It was her room; her piece of heaven inside Blackhell, the one silent get away from everything that she hated about the school.

She still slightly resented Joyce’s decision to send her to a boarding school all because she was kicked out of her last high-school. A part of her understood that she was disappointing her mother, but a bigger part of her didn’t care. It’s not like she _wanted_ to punch those assholes until they cried. Well, maybe she _did,_ but they deserved it.

Chloe flopped down onto her bed and pulled her ashtray off the nightstand, taking a cigarette from the back nearby and sparking up.

It was going to be a long week.

What sucked the most was the fact she’d be forced to share it with _Victoria Chase_ of all people.

Fucking brilliant.


	3. An Opportune Encounter

Chloe sat in the classroom, her legs pulled up onto her desk and her hands behind her head. Her eyes were closed and slowly - very slowly - her head began to roll back and to the side.

This was so fucking boring.

“Ms. Price,” the teacher - who else than Mr. Denver - spoke up, pointing his pen at her. “Legs down, eyes open. This is a detention, not a nap break.”

Rolling her eyes, Chloe took her time to oblige. She pulled one leg down. Then another. Then she pulled one hand back. Then another-

“Ms. Price,” Mr. Denver said firmly.

“What the fu- whaddya want, teach?” Chloe replied, giving him a glance.

“Could you please behave for once, this is for your own good.”

Chloe rolled her eyes even _harder_ than before. Behind her she heard a snicker, and _immediately_ she spun around and _glared_ at Victoria sitting on her own, right at the very back.

Victoria, despite her protests and statements that she would _not_ attend detention with Chloe, faltered in the end. Not that she had much of a choice, really.

“Icky Vicky,” Chloe shot over in a whisper - getting a scowl back. She just smirked and pulled a face.

“Price, you are a fucking _kid,_ I swear-”

“Ms. Price, Ms. Chase. Please. This is a detention. Get back to your work!” Mr. Denver finally snapped, rising from his seat. “If you want to talk, do so in your own time. Now you will keep quiet and focus on your work.”

There was a grumble - first from Chloe, then from Victoria - but both of them _finally_ obliged and began to work on the task they were given. It was easy.

Just some homework Chloe missed once. Twice. Three times? Okay, maybe more than three - but whatever, it was easy.

Chloe could make it through this. She only had a weeks worth of detentions left.

Fuck.

Chloe couldn’t get through this.

This sucked so fucking bad.

“Teeeeeeach,” Chloe groaned and pushed her head up. She crossed her legs slightly and sighed. “Can I get a pass to the restroom? Girl’s business.”

Mr. Denver sighed and rubbed at his temples. Looking up at Chloe, he shook his head. “Usual story. No,” he said simply and returned back to his work.

“Ugh,” Chloe grumbled and then kicked at a nearby chair - enough to get the teacher’s attention for just a moment. She leaned back in her chair, crossed her arms and then looked off to the side.

It was quiet.

Victoria was _surprisingly_ working on the task she was given. Chloe not so much.

“Teeeeach,” Chloe spoke up again, shifting in her seat. “C’mon, I need to go,” she grumbled.

“No.”

“Dude, c’mon!”

“No means no, Ms. Price. I’m not your ‘dude’ either, have some respect. Should’ve thought about it before detention,” Mr. Denver shut her down, giving her another momentary glance before shaking his head. “Get back to work please.”

Chloe was silent for all but a second. She kicked at the chair beside her once. Twice. Three times. Each kick harsher than the last, ensuring maximum disruption.

“Ms. Price, stop that,” Mr. Denver spoke up, rising from his seat.

“I gotta gooooo!” Chloe whined pathetically.

Looking her over for a few seconds, the teacher finally sighed. He reached over for a laminated pass beside his stack of papers - ones he was marking - and then extended it towards Chloe. “Go.”

Chloe pumped her fist in victory beneath the desk. “Sweet!” she exclaimed as she pushed herself out of her seat and swaggered over towards his desk.

Promptly she took his pass and left, but not before giving Victoria the middle-finger when Mr. Denver was head down in his stack of papers. Victoria replied in kind.

* * *

 

In truth, Chloe didn’t need the break.

Standing at the back of the girls restroom, she hid somewhat behind the stalls - permanent marker in hand, the cap in her mouth. She grinned as best as she could whilst she graffitied the stall wall - humming to herself.

She left her marks all over Blackwell, though not many knew it was her - not even the skater dudes she hung out with. Girl had to keep some secrets, especially in a place like Blackwell.

“...and done!” she mumbled to herself, capping her pen.

Looking over the rather impressive graffiti - nothing rude nor lewd; though she had a history of such things - she smiled to herself, feeling a certain pride swelling up in her chest. She felt great.

Seconds later the door opened. Chloe swore under her nose and slammed her back against the stall - keeping silent. “Shit,” she whispered.

She waited. At first she didn’t hear anything, but then she heard a scuff of sneakers. She bit her lip and closed her eyes - hoping whoever it was wouldn’t check behind the stalls.

“...oh _dog.”_

Chloe shot her eyes open and furrowed her eyebrows. She’d recognise that voice anywhere - certainly the vocabulary too. Peering over the edge, she saw Max.

Of _course_ she’d fucking meet Max in a restroom, because the world had a real funny sense of humour. _Especially_ when it included Chloe Price somewhere.

Max sort of stood there, staring at the mirror. She leaned a bit on the sinks and then bowed her head, groaning before the turned the taps on - splashing water on her face.

Chloe just watched, mouth slightly agape. She pulled her head back around the stall and then puffed up her chest, straightened out her jacket and pulled her tie off slightly - like usual.

“Hey,” she spoke up and stepped out from behind the stall - leaning against it with her forearm, a smirk gracing her lips.

Max looked at Chloe, smiled and then acknowledged her somewhat. She stared back at the mirror.

Chloe waited all but a second.

“W-wait!” Max suddenly squeaked out, realising it was Chloe. She jumped up in her place and brought a hand to her chest, staring at Chloe. “Chloe? What are you-”

“Hey, I’m a girl too, dude.” Chloe grinned. “Before we start making out against the sinks though - ‘oh dog’, Max? _Really?_ ”

Max gaped her mouth in disbelief. Her brain processed the words, cogs turning, as she blushed, closed her mouth and then blushed harder when she realised what Chloe had said. _Make out? Against the sinks?_

“Hey, Earth to Max,” Chloe broke her out of her daze, snapping her fingers in front of her face. She’d somehow crossed the entire room in less than a second. “I was kidding dude. Gotta buy me dinner first before you get a kiss.”

That didn’t help.

“Whacha doin’ in here?” Chloe asked with a grin.

“Uh. What are _you_ doing here?” Max retorted.

“Kinda an awkward question to ask in a restroom, Max.”

“Y-yeah, well… you asked it first!”

They both went silent. Seconds later they burst out in laughter, though Max’s was more nervous than Chloe’s. Neither of them really noticed though.

“Hey, but really - I snuck out of detention to get a breather,” Chloe murmured and then turned to the mirrors herself - leaning on the sink too. She corrected her hair slightly and glanced sideways at Max.

“Oh,” Max replied and looked away - staring at her reflection. In said reflection she noticed a restroom pass sticking out of Chloe’s pocket. She smirked slightly and shook her head. “Snuck out?”

“Fuck yea dude. Fuck the rules and all the jazz, right?”

“Is that why you have a restroom pass in your pocket?” Max pointed out in the reflection.

Chloe gaped her mouth in confusion, looking down. She swore under her breath and blushed, shoving the pass further down into her pocket. “I, uh… d-dunno what you’re talking about dude.”

Fuck.

“Right,” Max replied and chuckled to herself. She splashed some more water on her face and then sighed. “I just needed a quick break.”

“...uh huh,” Chloe hummed, still slightly blushing. “I needed that too, to be fair.”

They both went silent. Chloe caught Max staring and Max caught Chloe staring whilst she stared. It resulted in both of them looking away, blushing some more and then awkwardly coughing.

“Uhm. I gotta get back,” Max said and pushed herself back, smiling at Chloe. “I’ll be seeing you around?”

Chloe waited a moment before smiling. “Oh yeah. Totally. Hopefully not in the restrooms again though,” she joked. They both laughed again.

“Mhm. Uhm. Bye.”

Watching as Max left, Chloe stared at the door as it closed. She swore under her nose after a few seconds and then stared at her reflection. She certainly didn’t expect an encounter with Max so soon.

Oh well.

* * *

 

“Ms. Price,” Mr. Denver spoke as soon as he saw Chloe enter the classroom again. “Take your seat again and _please_ do your work,” he mumbled.

Chloe gave him some sort of half-nod and half-shrug before waltzing slowly between the tables. Glancing at him over her shoulder, she saw him distracted.

Perfect.

With a grin, she quickly - and silently - ran up to Victoria, reached up into her hair and then messed it all up; all whilst giggling and laughing like a child.

Victoria almost _screamed_ in anger as she pushed Chloe’s hand away, dropping both her phone and pen onto the desk. “You _bitch-”_

“Ms. Chase! Ms. Price!” the teacher suddenly called out, standing up and making his way over. He sighed as she watched Chloe with her hands behind her back, looking away and trying to act as innocent as ever. “Would you please - _please_ \- behave! This is your last warning before I mention your behaviour to the principal… again.”

Victoria almost shook in anger, _seething_ as she sat still on her chair and glared at Chloe. She abso-fucking-lutely _hated_ her. She behaved like such a damn child and Victoria couldn’t stand it.

“Get back to your seat, Ms. Price. Now.”

Chloe just whistled and walked past him, acting innocent. As soon as she did however, she turned around and gave both Victoria and him the double-bird, snickering to herself before dropping in her seat.

Mr. Denver just sighed, rubbed at his forehead and then made his way back to his desk.

They both behaved for the rest of the detention. Mostly. Chloe actually did her work, surprisingly, and Victoria didn’t even touch her phone at all.

She had to be aware of Chloe at all times.

Eventually however the detention was finally over.

Thank-fucking-god. Victoria couldn’t stand being in the same room as Chloe anymore. It was mutual, however.

It didn’t stop Chloe from ambushing Victoria outside the classroom and messing up her hair _again_.

Chloe got away though, laughing to herself as she heard Victoria almost screaming after her, but not following.

Maybe, just maybe, she could get through these detentions - provided she didn’t push her luck too much. Teasing Victoria would _always_ be worth it though.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow i forgot this was a fic


	4. Rad

Max sat quietly in her photography class. 

Tapping her pencil absently on the table, she watched as Mr. Jefferson moved about and explained things. What things? Max wasn’t so sure; she was daydreaming so everything he said kind off… faded away as soon as he opened his mouth.

She had found herself daydreaming more and more. She still wasn’t over her brief-but-awkward encounter with Chloe in the girls restroom over a week ago. She’d seen her around since but they didn’t talk.

Not that they had anything to talk about.

But Max wanted to talk to her.

Kate was sat beside Max and she too was rather absent from the lesson at hand. She was doodling some Hawt Dog Man characters in her notepad - but thankfully Mr. Jefferson was far too busy to notice either of them not paying attention.

“Psst.”

Max raised an eyebrow and looked at Kate. “Yes?”

Kate raised an eyebrow and looked at Max. “Uhm. What?”

“...did you try to get my attention?” Max asked quietly, glancing at Mr. Jefferson quickly.

“...no?” Kate replied.

As the two leaned back, they shared a look and then both shrugged. Then they  _ actually  _ paid attention to the lesson - for a while anyway. Eventually Max returned to her daydreams and Kate to her doodles.

_ “Psst!” _

Max looked at Kate again but saw her focused on her doodles. She shook her head slightly and looked about - seeing everyone focused on Mr. Jefferson. Well. Mostly everyone.

Victoria was  _ glaring _ at Max.

No wait. Not Max. Victoria was glaring  _ beyond  _ Max - behind her, through her - towards the window beside her and Kate’s desk.

What?

“I’m here you doofus!”

Max swiped her head to the side and squeaked silently.

“Chloe!” she exclaimed in a whisper and quickly looked at Mr. Jefferson - finding him still droning on about things. Hopefully he would still be going on for a while. “What the hell!”

Chloe grinned as she peeked at Max through the window of her classroom - precariously balanced on her skateboard and tiptoes at once. She crossed her arms and leaned in a bit.

“Whacha doing?” she asked stupidly, glancing at Mr. Jefferson.

“...I’m in class,” Max replied matter-of-factly - hearing Kate gasp silently behind her, no doubt noticing Chloe too.

“Hey Kate,” Chloe added and grinned towards her too.

“Uhm. H-hi.”

Max looked at Chloe, then towards Kate, then towards Victoria across the classroom - seeing her  _ still  _ glaring directly at Chloe. She wondered why, but didn’t dwell on it as she quickly focused back on Chloe.

“What are  _ you  _ doing?” she asked and shuffled slightly closer to the window.

Chloe rolled her eyes and looked over her shoulder quickly, ensuring there were no teachers in sight in the courtyard. “Talking to you, duh,” she replied as she gazed back at Max. “How are you?”

“...good?” Max panicked a bit when she heard Mr. Jefferson stop talking. Thankfully he was just sorting through his papers on his desk, only seconds later resuming his talk.

“Aren’t you happy to see me, Mad Max?” Chloe teased and leaned in a bit more.

Max groaned and rubbed at her face but nodded anyway. “I am? ...but can you… not? If Mr. Jefferson sees you-”

“Maxine,” Mr. Jefferson conveniently spoke up on cue.

Chloe almost yelped as she let go of the window and fell back. There was a sound of upturned leaves, rustling, some quiet swear words and finally silence. Nobody but Max and Kate heard it though, it seemed.

“Yes Mr. Jefferson?” Max answered back, biting her lip. She hoped Chloe was alright.

“Please - you know better than to call me Mr. Jefferson, Maxine. Mark is fine - you all know that,” he addressed the class with his hands out. He smiled and then looked back at Max. “You seem distracted. Am I boring you?”

“Huh? Uh. Oh! No, not at all,” Max quickly replied and shook her head. “I was just… thinking. That’s all. Sorry. I’ll focus now. Also its Max, never Maxine.”

Mr. Jefferson lingered a bit over her, staring as he kept his mouth slightly open - as if wanting to speak. He closed it quickly however and then smiled, nodding. “Right. Good. Your education here is important - now please, focus Max.”

Max waited a few seconds and breathed a sigh of relief. She looked up at the window and didn’t see Chloe anymore -  _ but  _ she did see a piece of paper rolled up into a ball, balanced on the very edge.

She bit her lip and reached out to take it, thankfully not being spotted by Mr. Jefferson. She opened up the page and read the contents - blushing slightly.

_ ‘skate ramps after class’ _

She sighed and scrunched the paper up again, shoving it into her pocket.

Then again - with doubled efforts - she focused on what Mr. Jefferson was talking about.

* * *

Chloe laughed as she talked to Justin and Trevor beside her, skateboard across her lap. She leaned back a bit and reached over to grab the joint from one of them, taking a quick drag before blowing the smoke out.   
  
Watching as they both took off down the ramp, she kept herself sitting on the edge - leaning back on her hands and glancing about. After a few seconds she closed her eyes and just…

...relaxed.

Let her worries fade away. She’d lie if she said the weed didn’t help that.

“Uhm. Hey!”

With a slight gasp, Chloe opened her eyes wide and looked to the side. She quickly recovered and smiled. “Max! You actually came, holy crap!”

“Uh. Yeah!” Max replied and awkwardly stood beside Chloe, looking down at her. 

Chloe stared right back up at her and kept her smile. After a second she realised and quickly shuffled to the side, patting the spot beside her. “C’mon - take a seat, Pete.”

Max sat down and sighed, pulling off her bag and putting it down beside her. She crossed her hands over her lap and fumbled with her fingers nervously almost - watching Justin and Trevor down on the ramps.

There was a period of silence where Max just watched the skaters and Chloe just watched Max watching the skaters. It wasn’t _ too _ awkward. But it  _ was _ awkward.

“Hey, so… uh… why did you want to meet?” she asked eventually, looking at Chloe.

“Huh?” Chloe mumbled in confusion. Seconds later her brain processed what Max said. “Oh. Yeah! I dunno dude, just wanted to talk. Get to know you a bit better, seeing as fate has a funny thing for bringing us together in awkward places.”

“Oh.” Max looked away and bit her lip, looking down at her hands. “Yeah. Yeah, I guess it does,” she said with a giggle.

Silence again. Neither of them minded though -  it wasn’t awkward this time for whatever reason. Maybe they already broke the ice, as it were.

“Hey, so you’re from Seattle, right?” Chloe eventually spoke up, leading the conversation. “I vaguely remember you saying something like that once, near the beginning of the year.”

“Uh, yeah. I’m from Seattle. You’re from, uhm… Portland, right?” Max replied, looking at her.

Chloe smirked and loosened her tie a bit, letting it rest around her neck. She hated the damn thing. “Bingo. Parents sent me here because I was a little shit and got kicked out of my last school. Also the one before that. I had my reasons.”

“Ooh… right,” Max hummed. “My parents sent me here because it was the best school for what I wanted to study. Uhm. Photography, that is.”

As they both shared a look, they also glanced away in unison - focusing on the skaters down on the ramps. Neither of them spoke yet again, shrouding themselves in silence, but they liked it.

Weird.

“Hey you two!”

Chloe looked to the side in surprise, quickly followed by Max. They both watched as Rachel approached and dropped down beside Chloe, letting her legs hang over the ramp. She put her bag down and then sighed, brushing her hair away before leaning back and facing up towards the sun.

“What you up to?” she asked after a few seconds, opening one eye to look towards Chloe, then Max. 

“Oh. We were just talking. Sharing backgrounds,” Chloe replied, hearing Max nod.

“Yep. Just getting to know one another,” Max repeated.

Rachel looked at Chloe, then Max, then Chloe again before smirking. “Ah. Sharing backgrounds. You lot are boring,” she teased and nudged Chloe with her elbow.

Chloe wasn’t sure how to take that. She just cleared her throat and shrugged, looking away for just a second. “Right.”

“Talking is boring.” Rachel groaned and rolled her head back. “Maybe you two should come to the next Vortex party,” she suggested and then looked at Max. “How’s that sound, Maxine?”

“Uhm. I d-don’t know…” Max trailed off and looked at her sneakers, scuffing them together. She glanced back up at Rachel after a few seconds. “Also it’s Max, never Maxine.”

Rachel furrowed her eyebrows briefly before smiling wide. “Right. Max it is, sorry. But no, seriously - you two need to come and hang out,” she continued anyway. “I can get you into the VIP area.”

“Eh. I’d rather avoid Victoria,” Chloe muttered.

“Me too,” Max added.

Rolling her eyes, Rachel reached forward to grab Chloe’s forearm - giving it a shake. “C’mon… Victoria isn’t going to kill you. Nor you, Max.”

Chloe winced slightly and looked at Rachel’s hand around her forearm. She cleared her throat and once again looked away. “I… actually wouldn’t bet on that. Victoria has it out for me.”

“That’s because _you_ have it out for  _ her _ ,” Rachel pointed out with a knowing look. “You’re always at each other's throats - doesn’t take a genius to notice that,” she pointed out, leaning forward to look at Max. “You’ve noticed too Max, haven’t you?”

Max opened her mouth and flapped it about silently for a few seconds. She looked at Chloe and then dropped her shoulders slightly. “Yeah. Yeah, you two  _ do _ kinda have a rivalry of sorts…”

“Wha-” Chloe sputtered out, almost offended.

They did both have a point though. But teasing Victoria was so  _ fun _ .

“It’s like you’re crushing one her or something…” Rachel trailed off, her smirk growing ever wider. She looked around at Max. “I bet she is, isn’t she Max?”

Max once again flapped her mouth open. Seconds later she nodded yet again. “Yeah. Yeah!” she repeated herself, chuckling slightly.

Chloe blushed, shook off Rachel’s hand and then shook her head afterwards. “I am  _ not _ crushing on Victoria Chase! Jesus fuckin’-”

“Alright, alright!” Rachel quickly interrupted; her hands held up placatingly. “Okay - you’re  _ not  _ crushing on Victoria Chase. Fine. My bad.”

Max sort of looked away, towards the school.

Chloe kept her eyes on Justin and Trevor.

Rachel noticed, looked them both over and then rolled her eyes. She braced herself back on her elbows and closed her eyes, trying to sunbathe.

“I’m gonna hit the ramps,” Chloe spoke up after a few more minutes of awkward silence. 

For whatever reason, Rachel’s presence sort of… made things awkward between Max and Chloe again. Ugh.

Rachel and Max both watched as Chloe stood up and promptly made her way down, skateboard in hand. Only seconds later she kicked off - joining Justin and Trevor nearby.

* * *

An hour or so later, Chloe was done. She brushed her hair back as she rolled up beside Max, kicking up her board and collapsing back down - Rachel however was nowhere to be found. 

“Where’d Rachel go?” she asked, looking about before focusing on Max again.

“Oh - she said she had homework to do,” Max replied, messing with her camera. She placed it down beside her and then pulled up a few polaroids - checking them over.

Chloe looked and looked and looked. Her brain clicked and she pointed at the polaroids almost immediately. “Oh, dude! You got snaps of me skating?” she exclaimed.

“Uh, yeah-”

Wasting no time, Chloe snapped up one polaroid and checked it out herself. After a few seconds she nodded. “Damn - I look that badass with a board?” she teased, glancing at Max.

Blinking, Max groaned after a few seconds. She took the polaroid back and shoved it in with the others she took. “You look  _ okay _ with a skateboard,” she corrected Chloe, smiling to herself.

“Ouch.”

Max chuckled and fumbled with the polaroids again. “Uh. Do you want one? I was just practicing and… they suck-”

“Dude, these are amazeballs!” Chloe interrupted, grabbing the polaroids again. She quickly shuffled through them before finding one she  _ really _ liked - they were all pretty fucking good though. “This. I’m keeping this - oh man.”

Watching as Chloe put the polaroid in her breast pocket, she looked up at her and the two just… stared at one another for a second, two - maybe three, or perhaps four. They both snapped out of it and looked away again. “They’re not very good,” Max repeated.

With a groan, Chloe put the polaroids back in Max’s hands - shaking her head. “Dude - these are fucking  _ amazing _ , okay? Keep them for me, maybe I’ll want the rest later - m’kay?”

Max still didn’t believe her - it was  _ kinda  _ hard to - but she nodded anyway. “Alright. Fine. Uhm, anyways - I have to go myself, I got piles of homework…” she trailed off and groaned, rubbing her forehead. “Shucks.”

“Really? Oh man. Let me walk you to your dorm at least?” Chloe asked, immediately perking up onto her feet. She reached her hand down, gesturing Max to take it.

Max stared and stared and stared and then finally nodded again. She took Chloe’s hand and stood up with her help, taking her camera up with her. She grabbed her back, put her camera away and sighed.

“Let’s go nerd!” Chloe called out - taking off on her skateboard with a laugh.

“What- hey! That’s not fair!” Max shouted, quickly breaking into a run after her.

* * *

Chloe didn’t actually get far - she simply got a head start, then waited over for Max. They walked the rest of the way to the dorms, talking and getting to know one another. Max learned things about Chloe and Chloe learned things about Max - which she promptly used to tease her, as Chloe would.

Though eventually they reached the girls dorms - more importantly Max’s dorm room. They smiled at one another and stood outside. Chloe sort of rocked backwards and forwards on her heels, putting that extra energy to use, whilst Max just smiled like and idiot.   
  
“So… we’re here. My dorm,” Max said and looked at her door. She grabbed the handle and held her hand there, waiting a few seconds. “Uh. Thanks for inviting me to hang out,” she quickly added - looking back at Chloe. “It was nice.”

Chloe grinned and grinned. “Yeah, I guess it was. Thanks for the polaroid too, I’m gonna hang it up in my room - shit looks rad.”

Max furrowed her eyebrows and questioned the choice of words but didn’t mention it. “Thanks. If you want the rest just, uh… ask.”

Then they well silent and stared at one another again.

“Right. Uhm. See you soon?” Max muttered and shrugged a bit.

“Yeah. Soon. Count on it.”

Max gave her another smile, cleared her throat and promptly disappeared behind her door.

Chloe stood there and watched. After a few seconds she gave herself a fist pump and whirled around on her heels - heading down the hall to her own room; almost dancing on the way there. She got a few looks but not for long.

Slamming the door behind herself, Chloe was quick to turn up her hifi and start  _ actually  _ dancing. It didn’t take her long to grab a cigarette and spark up too, humming along to the songs as they came - taking drags in between.

She grinned.

Max was… something else. Chloe crushed on girls before, but never acted upon it - not by much anyway. Yet here was  _ Max _ and Max was… Max. Dorky and awkward - yet there was more. 

Chloe just couldn’t pass that up.


End file.
